An aide of Philippine President-elect Rodrigo Duterte said that he would stop holding press conferences for now “so that there be no more errors” after his recent pronouncements at media briefings drew condemnation globally.
Advertisement
“We don’t presume to tell the Philippines how to punish lawbreakers, but Duterte’s remarks suggest a cavalier attitude toward the killing of journalists, which is a growing problem in the Phillipines”, said Thomas Burr, president of the National Press Club.
Duterte’s statement is a declaration that it’s “open season to silence the media, both individual journalists and the institution, on the mere perception of corruption”, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, a group of 1,500 media practitioners, said in a statement.
Local media groups also widely condemned the remarks.
In its latest report, the IFJ said the Philippines had the second largest number of journalists murdered since 1990, surpassed only by Iraq.
Stay on topic – This helps keep the thread focused on the discussion at hand.
“In fact, the NUJP and other media organizations clearly said that to boycott the President-elect would be to abdicate our duties and responsibilities to inform the Filipino people”.
Duterte also raised the case of Jun Pala, a journalist and politician who was murdered in Davao in 2003.
Duterte was asked at press conference in his hometown how he would better protect journalists in the wake of another journalist murder in Manila last week.
‘We deplore the proposition that some journalists may have been assaulted or killed in view of their alleged involvement in media corruption, ‘ he said in a statement. I expected that from a Mayor Duterte.
Raffy Tima said that President-elect Rodrigo Duterte “catcalling” (whistling) on his wife Mariz Umali is “wrong in so many levels”.
With less than a month left before he assumes office, Duterte said he will take a tough stance on corrupt cops.
Duterte, whose first marriage was annulled and who is now in a long-term relationship with another woman, has also openly boasted about having mistresses and using Viagra to have sex with them.
“Just because you’re a journalist (doesn’t mean) you’re exempted from assassination if you’re a son of a bitch”, Duterte said. At the time, Duterte spokesman Salvador Panelo described the move as a “gimmick”, but added, “to each his own”.
The future president of the Philippines encourages gun owners to shoot and kill drug dealers who threaten them or resist arrest.
Advertisement
The former government prosecutor, who starts his six-year term on June 30, threatened to humiliate the police chiefs if they did not stand down over unspecified crimes.
